... symbol in the novel is the scarlet letter, which affects each character in a different way. The characters who are affected by the letter are Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Pearl, and Hester Prynne (Schneider). The scarlet letter is a sign by which the colonial authority seeks to fix the crime of ... watched very closely by the community. Because of her public shame and constant ridicule, Hester becomes an outcast to society. Her love for Arthur Dimmesdale, their minister, and the creation of Pearl, her daughter, has forced her to live in seclusion. The only times she even come...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... and objects and makes them symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the course of the book, Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify and contrast both the Puritanical and Romantic philosophies. Hester Prynne, as seen by Puritanism is an extreme sinner; she has ... had a knack of fitting in with natural things. Puritanism puts all of its stock in the religious leader of the community; Arthur Dimmesdale was the Religious leader of the community where the story takes place. The reader soon discovers hates himself and must physically inflict pain ... and philosophi...

• Word Count: 2043
• Approx Pages: 8

... midnight for self-torture. Hester joins him, and there they are seen together by Hester's husband, Chillingworth. At the end, the exhausted and death-stricken Dimmesdale totters to confess his sin at last to the incredulous and only half- comprehending crowd, and to die in Hester's arms. Gomez 3 On the ... shame at all; its only meaning was Gomez 4 defined by her not for her. Now, she chooses it to symbolize the man she loved and lost, Arthur Dimmesdale. Sometimes, the meaning of the letter can shift within a scene. In Governor Bellingham's house, it exists in four different versions at ...

• Word Count: 1915
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School